Of rights, risks and relocation

I always wondered how white Americans could have stood by during World War II and allowed authorities to drag patriotic Japanese-Americans off to relocation camps.

Michael Fitzgerald

I always wondered how white Americans could have stood by during World War II and allowed authorities to drag patriotic Japanese-Americans off to relocation camps.

Now I see. In wartime, such calls are not as easy as they appear in hindsight. Americans probably assumed authorities knew something civilians did not. They trusted people with badges.

More on that later. The point is that the Lodi terror case is starting to have an eerie resemblance to that disgraceful historic mistake.

The latest wrinkle: Federal authorities won't allow two Pakistani-Americans related to Lodi terror convict Hamid Hayat to come home from an extended stay in Pakistan until they take a lie-detector test.

Muhammad Ismail, 45, and his son, Jaber Ismail, 18, are U.S. citizens. They are charged with no crime. No U.S. official publicly has alleged any wrongdoing on their part.

Their cousin Hamid Hayat was convicted April 25 of supporting terrorists. A jury concluded Hayat attended terrorist training camp in Pakistan in 2003 and '04.

Under FBI interrogation, Hayat said several of his cousins, including Jaber, attended these camps, too. That may be what landed both Ismails on the no-fly list.

Finding his way home blocked, Jaber Ismail submitted to an FBI "interview" in Islamabad. But that wasn't enough. The feds wanted to talk to him again.

His dad, too. But Lodi relatives reportedly advised them that might not be such a good idea. So the Ismails refused.

That looks suspicious. But consider: Hamid Hayat was convicted solely on statements he made during FBI interrogation. He later recanted. Too late.

Umer Hayat, his father, cooperated with FBI agents and was charged with lying. His jury deadlocked, but he spent 11 months in jail.

Maybe the Ismails are hiding something. But then, conversations with the FBI haven't gone so wonderfully for the Muslims of Lodi that they should be eager for more.

They may fear if they submit to interrogation, the FBI will hang something on them by hook or by crook. A lie detector? Could you answer FBI questions without making that truth graph dance at least once?

Authorities may know more than they are saying. That's the devilish dilemma of the war on terror. You have the facts in favor, the facts against and facts locked in a black box by G-men.

National security authorities deserve support. But in the new, post-9/11 paradigm, these authorities are saying they often must be above scrutiny.

The FBI and the State Department have provided zero explanation of their actions against the Ismails.

"Trust us."

I can't buy that. No matter how real the threat. It's just my opinion, but an American is loyal to rights, not to authorities, unless authorities, too, are loyal to those rights, or why the Boston Tea Party?

By depriving the Ismails of their rights, law enforcement officials are saying, in effect, what kind of American belongs in our society and what kind does not.

That's not a cop's place. That's the Taliban's place. Don't get me wrong. I'm not comparing U.S. officials to the Taliban. Only saying a cop's place is deciding who belongs in jail, not who belongs in America.

It's a really difficult issue. But at least it casts light on those who conscienced the Japanese relocation. Fear and racism? Sure. But now we can see such ingredients are not essential.

All that's needed is to be unsure, all protests paralyzed by the unknown. No need to shout for scalps; being tongue-tied will do.

So we can either stand there while U.S. citizens are convicted of guilt by association and exiled or go out on an unpopular limb, defending the rights of strangers.

The people with badges got the Japanese relocation tragically wrong. What have we learned? How are we better?

Federal officials should charge any suspects with crimes and present their case in open court or let the Ismails come home.